Remember our combat medics

I took EMT training. I wanted to be a combat medic when I was a kid but health reasons kept me out. Still, always loved the medic as they just seemed to be the coolest guys on the planet. Yes, I know, some will deride, but loved the idea of trying to save people. Anyway, two AP stories, one sad, one proud. Remember our medics.

CONCORD, N.H. — A soldier from New Hampshire has died of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan.

Twenty-one-year-old Nicholas Bernier of East Kingston was a combat medic with the 10th Mountain Division stationed in Fort Polk, La. His death was announced Thursday by the division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Insurgents using small arms fire attacked his unit in the Kharwar district of Afghanistan on June 22. Bernier died June 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Bernier joined the Army in March 2008. He arrived at Fort Polk in April 2010 and deployed with his unit in October.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Achievement medal, and others.

He is survived by his parents, brothers and a sister.

And on the other end of the spectrum…

AVON, Conn. — A 31-year-old sailor from Connecticut has been awarded the Silver Star for his actions in combat in Afghanistan.

The Hartford Courant reports that Petty Officer First Class Amilcar Rodriguez, a 1998 graduate of Avon High School, received the nation’s third-highest award for valor in combat as well as the Purple Heart during a ceremony on June 24 at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The Navy says Rodriguez, a medic, was shot three times on Nov. 6, 2009, while rescuing a wounded Marine. Officials say he continued to oversee that Marine’s treatment and treated other wounded colleagues, despite his own serious injuries.

Rodriguez is now assigned to the Naval Special Operations Medical Institute at Fort Bragg.

Author: Andy Kravetz

Andy Kravetz has spent most of the past 16 years covering the area's legal system as well as the military. in that time, he's crawled in the mud, flown in transport planes, and written about a man prosecuted for terrorism. This blog will reflect all those interests and then some.
View all posts by Andy Kravetz

One thought on “Remember our combat medics”

Got this from a retired Marine major. Definition of a Corpsman: “bearded long haired Marine hating sailor with unique medical skills, who would go through the gates of hell to get to a wounded Marine”.